"We're not better than [the Phillies], no," Minaya said of the Mets' NL East rivals. "Right now, they're world champions.

"The only way you get to be better than them is to beat them. You've got to go out there and get it done. You don't win championships on paper. I've never believed in that. Do I think we've improved our club? Yes. But the bottom line is the Phillies have won the World Series and they won the division twice. They have a good team and the experience of being in playoffs and World Series - that is huge.

"So we have a lot of work to do."

Hard to argue with Minaya. But it might be worth remembering that K-Rod did say last week that the Mets, not the Phillies, were the team to beat in the NL East.